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Magic
Whether it comes in the form of mystical artifacts, mysterious creatures, or wizards weaving strange spells, magic can be felt across Tyrind. With special gestures and utterances, a spellcaster can call forth mystic energies, warp the mind, protect themselves from danger, or even create something from nothing. However, while many use the term "magic" interchangably, in reality magic is a dynamic force that comes in many forms. Magical Schools The fundamental building blocks of magic are the magical traditions and the schools of magic. The four traditions (described in more detail below) are arcane, divine, occult, and primal. A spell's school is intrinsic to the spell and establishes what the spell is capable of. Abjuration spells, for example, can raise protective wards, enchantment can change anothers' thoughts, and evocation spells can create waves of fire. All spells, magical items, and other magical effects fall into one of the schools of magic. These schools are the foundation that creates a spell. These schools are like signatures, calling on and pulling together energies to accomplish a specific purpose. Some spellcasters have a particular acumen with certain schools. Abjuration Abjurations protect and ward. They create barriers that keep out attacks and even certain types of creatures or entities. They create effects that harm trespassers or banish interlopers. Conjuration Conjuration spells transport creatures or energies via teleportation, create an object, or bring a creature or object from somewhere else (typically another plane of existence) to follow your commands. Divination Divinations allow you to learn the secrets of the past, the present, and the future. They bestow good fortune, grant you the ability to perceive remote locations, and reveals that which is hidden. Enchantment Enchantments affect the minds and emotions of other creatures--sometimes to influence and control them, and other times to bolster them to greater heights of courage. Evocation Evocations capture magical energy and shape it to harm foes or protect your allies. This is the flashiest and most destructive school of magic. Illusion Illusions create the semblance of something real, fooling the eyes, ears, and other senses. Necromancy Necromancy spells harness the power of life and death itself, manipulating the lifeforce of living things and bestowing a dark perversion of life to the dead. They can sap the life essence or sustain creatures with life-saving healing. Transmutation Transmutation spells make alterations to or transform the physical form of a creature or object. Spellbooks Carefully maintained and jealously guarded, there are few things more valuable to a wizard than their spellbooks. These repositories of magical lore are often trapped and warded to ensure nobody meddles with the secrets inside. These tomes are not the only kind of repositories that exist. Some cultures inscribe magical secrets on specially treated strips of bark, or transcribed through intricate tattoos. Indeed, spellbooks come in many varieties and are just as diverse as magic itself. Magic Traditions All spellcasters cast spells from one of four different magical traditions. Each tradition reflects a different way that magic interacts with the world and the people in it. Arcane The energy that binds reality together, arcane magic is a powerful and ambient force. Those who harness arcane magic often use logic and rationality to categorize the magic inherent in the world around them. Because of its far-reaching influence, the arcane tradition is one of the most versatile traditions. Arcane magic is less capable of truly affecting the spirit or soul of the living; it can bestow the semblance of life through necromancy, but is not truly able to revive the dead. Wizards pour over tomes and grimoires, and sorcerers undergo great discipline to study the secrets of their blood to unlock the power that lies within themselves. Divine The power of the divine is that which fuels life itself. It is steeped in faith, the unseen, and belief. Clerics are the most famous wielders of divine magic, harnessing their faith to work miracles and paladins call upon their god to grant them the strength and the skill to smite their foes. It is largely agreed upon that divine magic comes from the gods and is worked through willpower and instinct, rather than study. Occult The practitioners of occult traditions are perhaps the strangest of them all. Not truly endowed with innate skill, they call upon neither god nor intense study to work their magic. They seek to understand the unexplainable, categorize the bizarre, and otherwise access the ephemeral in an instinctive way. Bards are an example of such spellcasters, collecting strange esoterica, picking up little tricks here and there, and using the power of music and performance to influence the mind and elevate the soul. Primal Primal magic is a cousin to divine magic, and is the power of the natural world. Spellcasters within this tradition have an instinctual connection to and faith in the natural world, the cycle of day and night, the turning of the seasons, the natural selection of predator and prey drive the primal tradition. Druids are an example of primal magic users, calling upon the magic of nature through deep faith, communion with and a connection to the plants and animals around them. Many fey are also talented with primal magic. The Four Essences Spells that affect certain physical or metaphysical force tend to be grouped into particular magical traditions. Schools of magic widely agree that all of existence is comprised of some combination of the Four Essences, though some disagree on the names and particular qualities of each essence. The following entries discuss each essence and the traditions and spell schools relevant to it. For instance, evocation magic tends to manipulate matter, while abjuration spells draw upon and influence different essences depending on the spell being cast. Life Also called heart, faith, instinct, or vitae, life represents the animating universal force within all things. Whereas matter provides the base materials for a body, life keeps it alive and well. This essence is responsible for the subconscious responses and belief, such as ancestral instincts and divine guidance. The conscience is a part of Life. Matter Also called body, forces, material essence or physical essence, matter is the fundamental building block that makes up all physical things in the known world. Evocation and Transmutation spells are especially attuned toward manipulating and shaping matter. Mind Also called thought or astral essence, the mind essence allows thinking creatures to have rational thoughts, ideas, plans, logic, and memory. Mind touches even non-sapient creatures like animals, though in a more limited capacity. Enchantment and Illusion spells especially influence and fool the mind essence. Spirit Also called soul, ethereal essence, spirit is an otherworldly building block that makes up a being's immaterial and immortal self. It is what allows dreaming, creativity, and invention. The spirit travels through the Ethereal Plane and into the Great Beyond after the death of the physical body. Spell Components Magic doesn't just happen. It exists as a force regardless of its origin. It is only through the will and focus of a spellcaster that magic is drawn together and formed into an effect known as a "spell". The process of casting a spell, usually called "spellcasting" or "wonder working", requires a number of components to aid in the focusing of magical energies required to fuel the spell. Material A material component is a bit of physical matter that is often symbolic of the desired effect, and is consumed in the casting of the spell. The material component focuses the magic like a prism focuses light, and provides material anchoring and fuel that allows the spell to exist in our plane of existence. Some spells require components of a unique and high quality to cast, which require a spellcaster to seek out a specific material. For example, restoring life to the dead through a Raise Dead spell requires a diamond of exceptional purity. This symbolizes the spirit in material form, and like a crystal draws in and focuses the light, the diamond gives the spirit something to anchor onto, both physically and symbolically. Some spellcasters are capable of eschewing material components for the most part. Sorcerers in particular seem to be able to work most spells without using material components, as their very blood and essence act as the material component. Other spellcasters can learn to do this themselves, though it takes considerable training, focus, and discipline. Somatic A somatic component is a specific hand gesture or movement that generates a magical nexus. Most spells only require one hand be free and able to make the gestures, though some more difficult or complex spells may require two free hands--or even multiple spellcasters working the somatic components. Verbal Words have power. It was through words that existence came into being. Words can shape our reality, and in the case of magic that sentiment is a literal one. A verbal component is an incantation, a verbalization of words of power. They must be spoken in a strong voice, so it is difficult to conceal doing so with significant training, focus, discipline, and talent. Focus A focus is an object that funnels magical energy, but it is not consumed in the process. It is like a power line, transferring magical energy into a spell. Foci are often quite expensive, but many spellcasters find them worth it. As an example, clerics and paladins often use their holy symbols as a focus for their spells. Tattoos can also serve as a focus, but must be made with specific inks and applied in a lengthy and painful ritual. Metamagic Many spellcasters learn ways to alter or empower their spells in certain ways. These formulas are called "metamagic formulae" and are often extremely difficult to do. Applying a metamagic formula requires extra, very specific somatic and verbal work, which means that such spells usually take longer to cast and are more taxing for the spellcaster. Metamagic techniques can be used to make magic more potent, to alter the area of effect, to cause it to last longer, and any number of other techniques. Certain magical institutions require members to learn certain metamagic formulae. Others, such as the Imperial Academy of the Eldritch Arts in the Ozmit Empire teach entire courses on metamagic formulae, and students typically only learn one or two by graduation, such is their complexity.